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Spiced Lentil Walnut Burgers. Easy Flavorful Burger patties with avocado ranch. Vegan Burger Recipe. Soyfree Easily gluten-free. Serve as burgers or over salad.
These scrumptious and filling patties have lentils, rice, walnuts and loads of flavor in them. It’s been a while since I made burger patties. I am hoping these fantastic burgers will be magical enough to get us some sunny days in the cloudy PNW. Am I ready for warmer days with loads of sunshine. The grey starts to depress even the chirpiest of the people and birds around.
I use cumin, coriander, garam masala in these. Feel free to use your own combination of flavors such as cumin + chipotle + oregano, or coriander + berbere, or a chili powder blend of choice. Add some coarsely ground fennel seeds for a sausagey flavor. Since the burger mixture is cooked, you can fix and adjust the flavors before committing to the patties!
I served these Lentil Walnut Burgers /patties with my avocado ranch, lettuce, juicy tomatoes, onions, pickled jalapeno and a melted chao cheese slice! I am topping he next batch with a load of caramelized onions. The sweet onions go really well with the earthy lentils. Use any vegan ranch or mayo, some ketchup or bbq or other sauces of choice. To troubleshoot any veggie burger patties(crumbly, too soft etc), see my tips on this burger round up post. Happy Burgering!
More burgers from the blog
- BBQ Veggie Burger with Mango Carrot Cabbage slaw
- Spicy Chickpea yellow Lentil Burgers
- Bean Broccoli Lentil Burgers
- Amaranth Black Bean sliders with roasted red pepper sauce
- Red Lentil and Cauliflower Burger with Onion rings and Chipotle Habanero Mayo
- Grill-able Artichoke Cauliflower Spinach Bean Burger
- and a 35 Veggie burger collection round up!
Lately the facebook page has been getting angry non vegans asking me to change the name of the food to something other than burger, as Burger always equals meat. Well, please see this definition on Mirriam Webster. I did not make that definition. Burger is a generic term for a sandwich type food, that can be a hamburger, other meat burger, made with tofu, veggies, beans etc. Lentil Walnut Veggie Burgers!
Reading for the day-
Catch my interview at MasalaMommas this week.
Videos to watch
- This beautiful Indian wedding. It is big, long, cultural and vegan, does not use flowers, non biodegradable waste/plastics, no silk, pearls, leather. Amazing!
- This video shot at Pasado’s safe haven with Children and the sanctuary animals
- Cost of cheap clothing on the people and the planet
The burger patties can also be baked. I prefer to cook them on a pan for a crispy exterior and moist juicy interior. Baking can dry the patties out a bit. If you use a good non stick pan, oil might not be needed for the roasting.
If you try these patties, leave me a comment, rate the recipe(when you try it), tag me on Instagram #veganricha, let me know what you think, love, not like, suggestions. Feedback keeps me motivated (esp in this grey weather) and helps me improve!
Video:
Lentil Walnut Burgers
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped red onions
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1/4 inch ginger
- 1/3 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup packed cilantro
- 3/4 tsp salt or more, depends on if the lentils were salted
- 3/4 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander
- 1/2 tsp garlic
- 1/2 tsp cayenne, hot! or use sweet paprika + a good dash of black pepper for less heat
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 3-4 basil leaves, optional
- 3/4 cup cooked brown or white rice
- 1 1/2 cups cooked brown lentils or 1 15 oz can. I used Indian brown lentils
- 2 tsp ketchup or bbq sauce
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 flax egg, 1 tbsp flax seed meal mixed in 2.5 tbsp warm water, let sit for 2 minutes
- 3-4 tbsp breadcrumbs or flour, use gf breadcrumbs or flour to make gf
Instructions
- In a processor, process onion, garlic, ginger, walnuts and cilantro until finely chopped. Alternatively, cook the onions and garlic in 1/2 tsp oil until they are golden and then add to the processor.
- Add the spices, salt, basil, rice, half of the cooked lentils and pulse a few times until well combined. Transfer to a bowl with the rest of the lentils. Add ketchup, oil, flax egg and mix everything until evenly mixed in. Mash a bit if needed and mix in. Taste and adjust salt, spice, herbs if needed. Add in the breadcrumbs or flour and mix in. Let the mixture chill for 10 minutes.
- If the chilled mixture is too wet, add in more flour or breadcrumbs. The amount needed depends on the moisture in the veggies, the kind of lentils and just general mood of things in the mixture. Add more breadcrumbs or flour if too sticky wet. Add another flax egg if too crumbly to make patties.
- Shape into 4 large patties. Pack well. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add a drizzle of oil and spread it around. Place patties on the skillet and cook for 4 to 6 minutes per side.
- Serve with vegan ranch/avocado ranch or mayo or ketchup, mustard or other dressing of choice. Add some caramelized onions or other toppings.
Video
Notes
Add 2 tbsp nutritional yeast. To Bake: I normally bake lentil burger patties at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, then flip and bake another 10 or more minutes until golden. I haven't tried baking these particular patties. Let me know if you do.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are delicious! This is my first recipe of yours and I’m very pleased. I ate mine with chipotle Bitchin’ Sauce and sliced avocado on top (no bun), and some homemade coleslaw and pickled veggies on the side.
I live alone so I formed my four patties but only cooked one last night, then put the others back in the fridge in a sealed container. I cooked a second one today for lunch and it turned out great that way. I had a feeling cooking them all right away and then reheating the already cooked burgers wouldn’t be as good.
I did find medium-high to be much too hot, it burned my first one last night, so I’m cooking them on medium from now on.
Thanks for the great recipe!
Bitchin!!!!! haha. thank you!
Thank u so much for the recipe! It looks great! Can I use green lentils instead of brown (which are not roasted like the brown lentils)?
thank you for your question – yes, that’s fine
I made this recipe yesterday for Labor Day. The burgers were a hit. They tasted delicious and had a meaty texture. They held together nicely. This recipe was easy and most the ingredients I already had except the garam marsala which you provided the recipe for. I ordered your 2 cookbooks last night from amazon since I really enjoyed your recipe and website.
sounds like a great long weekend! Oh, Wow, 2 cookbooks?! thank you so very much for your support Gabrielle. I appreciate it greatly.
Since the covid lockdown, I have used he time at home to try making a new veg burger every weekend. I have tried a variety of proteins….black beans, chickpeas, quinoa, lentils. By far this is my favorite. I followed your recipe exactly, using all of the spices you suggested…actually used both cayenne and smoked paprika….and the flavor was perfect. Loads of wonderful aerobatic flavor, but not overpowering. I did have to add extra breadcrumbs, to tighten it up a bit. This recipe is on my favorites list now.
i think everyone has def. been cooking at home more during these times. good practice! thank you!!
I made these for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and my youngest son told me they were the best thing I’ve ever cooked for him. I just made them again tonight, this time with basmati rice because I thought the curry flavors would be enhanced by the flavor of basmati. I was right! Thank you for a wonderful recipe. This is now a family favorite!
that is so nice Fredick. I’m so glad you and the fam loved it! Thanks for the super star rating!
These turned out so well, really nice consistency and flavour. I barbecued them but it didn’t make them crispy as I hoped. Next time maybe I will pan fry first. Thanks!
thanks Lynn- yes you can get a nice sear on with the pan method
Holy Moly – these are delicious! I baked them instead of pan frying them. I lightly patted them in some panko crumbs before baking and they came out so good!! Love these and will be making them often for sure!
wow – nice twists Gina – I’m glad you had fun with them! I LOVE Panko!
Do you have any vegan cheeses that you recommend?
The brands keep changing their formulations , currently I like chao and some of the daiya
Thanks 🙂
I read this as “1/4 cup” of ginger instead of “1/4 inch” and was thinking to myself at the time this sounds like a lot of ginger but oh well it’s what the recipe says! Oops! They’re still really tasty though.
These are SO GOOD. Seriously. A friend made them for me and I asked her to share the recipe. Now I’m going through your site printing off all the recipes I want to try and I hope they measure up to these burgers!
awesome